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How Do International Service-learning Programs Change Students' Minds and Paths?

Last registered on April 30, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
How Do International Service-learning Programs Change Students' Minds and Paths?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014874
Initial registration date
April 03, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
April 04, 2025, 1:36 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
April 30, 2025, 2:00 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Anita Alur
Affiliation
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Cecilia Hyunjung Mo
PI Affiliation
University of California, Berkeley
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-08-01
End date
2027-05-31
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Does youth service cause shifts in beliefs, mindsets, and career trajectory? More specifically, are youth service participants more likely to exhibit “pro-social” behaviors and pursue “pro-social” occupations? Does participation increase their self-efficacy, empathy, and cross-cultural capacity?

To date, the question of the effects of youth service programs fosters the virtues and practices that strong liberal democracies require has been elusive because of a selection bias problem. When an individual participates in a youth service organization, is it because that individual is already a good citizen? Or does participation in a youth service experience indeed change participants? This research program overcomes this selection bias hurdle to answer this question, studying an international service-learning program. We will implement an RCT, focusing on the Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Fall 2026 application pools (for participants, we will focus on those assigned to have an immersive semester in South Africa or Malaysia)
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Alur, Anita and Cecilia Hyunjung Mo. 2025. "How Do International Service-learning Programs Change Students' Minds and Paths? ." AEA RCT Registry. April 30. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14874-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention is a four-month service-learning program that involves one month of virtual learning, followed by three months of cultural immersion in South Africa or Malaysia. Students will live in dormitories and engage in apprenticeships with local organizations conducting either human rights or climate-related work.
Intervention Start Date
2026-01-01
Intervention End Date
2026-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We will be measuring a variety of attitudinal outcomes, as well as some behavioral outcomes. Our outcomes of interest are self-awareness, agency, prejudice, immigration policy views, worldview on inequality, interrelatedness, cultural humility, ethnocultural empathy, self-actualization, cross-cultural perspective taking, civic engagement, public service motivation, political ideology, future plans (academic and professional trajectories and interests), and well-being.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
To test our hypotheses, we have pulled from a variety of batteries related to these topics. Some of these items were piloted in our study of the organization's alumni and non-matriculates, while others were drawn from Mo and Conn (2018)'s survey of Teach For America applicants.

We plan to normalize the individual items so that they fall on a scale from 0 to 1 and construct indices for most measures to reduce measurement error. Certain measures (e.g. those in our future plans module) will be analyzed at the item-level, as they refer to specific behaviors and interests. The full survey instrument can be found in the pre-analysis plan.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Our study population includes individuals who have applied to a hybrid, international service-learning program that includes one month of virtual learning, followed by a three-month cultural immersion in South Africa or Malaysia. These applicants hail from a variety of countries and backgrounds, so the exact makeup of our study population is unknown. However, we plan to block randomize admission across applicants who have met the clearance requirements for admission and are therefore eligible to participate.

We will survey participants and control students at baseline (prior to enrollment in the program) and endline (1-2 months after the program has been completed).
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization by computer
Randomization Unit
Block
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
400 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
200 treated, 200 control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
0.056
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Committee for Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS)
IRB Approval Date
2025-03-18
IRB Approval Number
2023-06-16496
Analysis Plan

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